Ryan Fox reveals how he tamed Royal Birkdale’s fiery rivers and treacherous greens to win the Open Championship.
How does it feel to be Champion Golfer of the Year?
Surreal, to be honest. It’s something you dream about. I used to wake up in the middle of the night to watch this tournament when I was a child and I was coming home. To even get the chance to play in it seemed like a dream come true, so now to be the Open champion, to be the Golf champion of the year, it’s unbelievable, it’s crazy. I don’t have enough words in my language to describe it, to be honest.
And the second champion of New Zealand after Sir Bob Charles; is that a difference in itself?
Corner. 1963, wasn’t it, in Lytham? So, that’s great for New Zealand golf. I think we have four great champions from New Zealand now: Michael Campbell, Lydia Ko, the multi-player champion, and Sir Bob, so to be able to join them is amazing. Having my own little piece of history is also amazing.
Your sporting legacy with your father and the All Blacks, and your grandfather as the New Zealand cricket captain, is well documented and something you’ve always been reminded of, so what does it mean to stand shoulder to shoulder with them?
Yes, we have a good history in our family. I think one of the good things is that I was under no pressure to follow in their footsteps. I was lucky enough to make my own way there and had the support of my grandfather early on and obviously my mum and dad through it all. I don’t know if this is up there with their benefits, but it’s certainly up there. I think there is no pressure on my children to move forward now!
Would it be fair to say that’s the best golf you’ve ever played in your life, the way you dealt with that 18th hole? And can you talk about the feelings that come up there?
Yes, definitely the first part. I mean, I hit two shots the way I wanted to hit them. I didn’t feel anything about the putt; everything was moving a lot. I was just happy to hit it close to the hole, and seeing it go in was amazing.
I told my caddy, Dean, on the tee we were going to play, that I was going to try to win the tournament, and I would live with the consequences if I screwed up. To go out there and hit it, and to hit it on the fairway and give myself a chance, was huge.
Then I settled on a good number. I think I had 175 yards on the hole. The wind had dropped slightly to the left. Obviously everything is tight in there, so it was a solid 9, and I hit it where I wanted to hit it. I think I yelled at it, ‘Please behave’ into the air, and it did.
To finish with a putt – everyone practices on the green, I think you have to win the big tournament, to win the Open. Not so in real life. It’s not the most comfortable feeling, but it’s definitely more fun when you see it coming.
Your best finish in this tournament before today was tied for 16th at Royal Portrush in 2019. What did you click this week?
I have always loved links golf since I first played it. I just love the art it takes. Growing up in New Zealand, we play in the wind, so doing that and having to control your ball and hit the wrong golf shots or not the normal golf shots is really good, and maybe that’s what I enjoy about golf and link golf in particular, a lot.
I feel like I’ve played well in Opens before but I’ve never put together four rounds. I probably won’t say I covered four laps this week. I put three together to give myself a chance today after yesterday’s round. You don’t expect to go out, even though you feel like you can shoot low scores early, to go out and shoot 62 and go 52 to get out of the final group on Sunday doesn’t happen often.
To go out with the pressure, and the chance to win the Open, and actually do it – I didn’t know how I was going to feel going out there today. After a few holes in my caddy, I felt better than I thought I would, but maybe I still didn’t feel comfortable. But he found comfort little by little on the ground.
Why do you think it was Birkdale in particular where you won the Open Championship?
Honestly, I don’t know. I played here in 2017 and really liked the course. Although I missed the cut, there was something about it that made me happy. It’s the golf course I feel most comfortable on. I like the way it’s played this week, it’s tight and fast, and that you can take it slow. If you were aggressive and took it out, you could shoot points. I think it’s one of the best courses on the Open rota, and the changes they’ve made this year have been amazing. Now I can say I look forward to coming back whenever it’s here in the future.
How important was the birdie on the 13th in terms of revitalizing your momentum. You looked really relaxed after hitting that great shot there. Did that help you get started there?
Well, obviously not – I can hit a bad shot on 11 and 12. It was very good going from the bottom and top of the 12th not to do too much damage. That tee shot on the 13th, I hit the driver with it every day this week and I made it twice and I didn’t make it twice, but I played it evenly all week, which I think is pretty good. I’ve taken the theory across the golf course this week that, if you keep at it, at least if you miss it, you can pull it off. If you don’t wear it and sleep and wear it, you’re in a bad place. So this game was great. I hit it where I wanted to hit it and had a laugh with Radar [Sky Sports Golf on-course commentator Wayne Riley] saying, is that the right club down there or not? You’re like, it doesn’t matter when you hit it. To take advantage of that, obviously I hit a lob wedge there and covered the 15 foot, maybe I just slipped on the right ledge. But yeah, that started the momentum in that ninth episode.
You didn’t become a professional until your mid-20s. At that time, did you still feel that you could get to where you are today?
When I became a champion, my goal was just to get on the tour. I said to my team last night at dinner that if you would have given me my job until tomorrow when I turned pro, I would have jumped at it. I don’t know what to think now, to be honest. Yes, it’s a constant. He dreams of becoming a great champion. You want to do it whether you think it’s true or not. I think maybe I didn’t until a few years ago. I wasn’t in the majors consistently until the last couple of years, so to sit here as Champion Golf of the Year, like I said, is a bit of a joke.
People were amazed at how fast you played. Can you explain what that strategy does for you as a player and maybe where you developed that, where did you learn it?
I was always like that as a child. I see things quickly. I used to play cricket when I was growing up. I played almost every sport as a kid. In tennis I just wanted to hit the ball hard, and I was the same in cricket. Everything happened quickly. I’ve never been methodical about anything, to be honest, and it just carries over to golf.
It’s not that hard to choose a gun and then choose a club. I go in there, and everything happens quickly. I just see the gun quickly, take the gun quickly, and if I have a little time to think about it, the little bad things can get in there.
Your friend, Dean, was talking about some work you did on your mind game behind the scenes. Can you share a bit about what you’ve been working on?
Well, we changed things up a bit this week. We actually had small talk at the clubs so I could own it a little bit. Dean would probably get a few earfuls of me between the clubs and I would take him out. I was talking to my sports psychologist, Karl Morris, when he was here earlier this week, and we talked about how I’m better when I create a shot, and creating a shot is about getting the data out of Dean, and then I make a decision about everything else, and then I say what I’m going to do to him.
I’ve done that well all week, especially since I’m starting over today. Another thing we worked on, especially on the putter, was breathing. I tend to be quick sometimes, and I take a long second, especially on the putt, I just get ready, relax. I did that a lot on the ground. I’m sure you can see it on camera too. There was a lot of breathing as I walked down some streets trying to compose myself. Apparently it worked very well.
The crowd seemed to be pulling for you, especially if Tommy couldn’t win anymore. How did that help you?
The crowd was amazing. There seemed to be a lot of Kiwis in the crowd. You could feel them very strongly throughout this week, especially today. It was as if the English crowd also followed me. I was trying not to get too caught up in that going down, focusing on what I can control. Getting accepted at 18 was one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced. I can’t thank the fans enough for supporting me. It was good.
What do you think winning this will do for golf in New Zealand?
It will be very big. I know it’s going to ruin a lot of guys’ Monday mornings! But, look, I think we’re punching above our weight a little bit in New Zealand anyway. Dame Lydia Ko has won three majors and she’s not even 30. It’s really crazy. I think this is going to be huge for New Zealand golf. In terms of entertainment, the game has been booming since COVID, and that momentum continues. I hope this adds a little to that.
We’ve seen guys on tour come out younger and younger each year, it seems. Your career arc is completely different. A slow burning and late blooming variety. Why do you think this is the case? Have there been stages throughout your career where you thought, professional golf is not for me, I’m going to go do something else?
I will answer the second one first. In my second year on the PGA of Australia Tour, I was very close to quitting. I think I still have three events left in the season, and I wasn’t enjoying it. I played well enough in the pro-ams to make some money, but I didn’t play well on Tour, and I was well out to keep my card. I remember coming to the Australian Masters at Royal Melbourne. It was the second last event of the year. I had just missed the cut at the Australian PGA. My father came to play for me, and he said to me, ‘why are you playing this game?’ And I said, well, it should be fun. But it wasn’t really fun at the time. You go, well, let’s just go out this week and try to have fun.
I think I finished five that week, and that made enough to keep my card for a year. I took the pressure off the whole year, came back the next year and played really well. Yes, I was very close to giving it up at that point.
Why is it less hot? I don’t know. I was a champion on the DP World Tour at the age of 30. I was a rookie on the PGA TOUR at 37 and now I’m a major champion at 39. I’m definitely not following a trend at the moment. But if I can keep getting a little bit better every year, I’d be very happy with that.
